Pairs Like leggja and liggja
Ég legg bókina á borðið. Bókin liggur á borðinu. (I put the book on the table. The book is lying on the table.)
How It Works
The main pairs.
- leggja (lay, put down flat): legg, lagði, lagt. liggja (lie, be lying): ligg, lá, legið.
- setja (put, set): set, setti, sett. sitja (sit, be sitting): sit, sat, setið.
- fella (make fall, cut down): felli, felldi, fellt. falla (fall): fell, féll, fallið.
- hengja (hang up): hengi, hengdi, hengt. hanga (hang, be hanging): hangi, hékk, hangið.
The verbs with an object are regular verbs with a -ði, -di or -ti past: lagði, setti, felldi, hengdi. leggja → lagði also changes its vowel, like other regular verbs with a vowel change. The verbs without an object are strong verbs with a new vowel in the past: lá, sat, féll, hékk. Learn each verb with its own principal parts.
Moving or staying. With á and í, the verbs with an object point to a goal, so the place is accusative. The verbs without an object give a location, so the place is dative. This is the rule for movement and location.
- Ég legg bókina á borðið. Then: Bókin liggur á borðinu.
- Ég hengdi myndina á vegginn. Then: Myndin hangir á veggnum.
- Þeir felldu tréð. (They cut the tree down.) Tréð féll í storminum. (The tree fell in the storm.)
Lying down and sitting down. For your own movement, use the -st forms: leggjast (lie down: leggst, lagðist, lagst) and setjast (sit down: sest, settist, sest). Ég settist við gluggann og sat þar lengi. (I sat down by the window and sat there for a long time.) Hann lagðist upp í rúm. (He lay down in bed.)
Things that stand. An upright thing such as a bottle usually stendur: Flaskan stendur á borðinu. (The bottle is on the table.)
Examples (6)
- Ég legg bókina á borðið.
I put the book on the table.
Word by Word: I lay the book on the table.
Movement onto the table: á + accusative borðið.
- Bókin liggur á borðinu.
The book is lying on the table.
Word by Word: The book lies on the table.
Location: á + dative borðinu.
- Kötturinn situr í glugganum.
The cat is sitting in the window.
Word by Word: The cat sits in the window.
- Ég settist við hliðina á henni.
I sat down next to her.
Word by Word: I sat-down by the side on her.
setjast is the movement of sitting down.
- Tréð féll í storminum.
The tree fell in the storm.
Word by Word: The tree fell in the storm.
- Myndin hangir á veggnum.
The picture is hanging on the wall.
Word by Word: The picture hangs on the wall.
Common Mistakes
Using liggja with an object.
Ég lá bókina á borðið.Ég lagði bókina á borðið.liggja means be lying and takes no object. To put something down, use leggja: ég lagði.
Using sitja for the movement of sitting down.
Hann sat niður.Hann settist niður.sitja is the state of being seated. For the movement, use setjast: Hann settist niður.
Using the dative after a placing verb.
Ég lagði bókina á borðinu.Ég lagði bókina á borðið.leggja moves the book onto the table, so á takes the accusative: á borðið. The dative á borðinu goes with liggja.
How It Connects
Learn This First
leggja and liggja build on movement and vowel-change verbs.
Related Patterns
- Verbs Ending in -st
leggjast and setjast mean lie down and sit down.
Level 2 - Past Tense With a Vowel Change
liggja, sitja, falla and hanga have strong past forms: lá, sat, féll, hékk.
Level 2 - A Verb's Principal Parts
Learn each verb of a pair with its own principal parts.
Level 3 - Change-of-State Verbs in -na
Another set of verbs that describe what happens to the subject, with no object.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice Pairs Like leggja and liggja in Bubblegum
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